The bit of set dancing engaged in by Meath and Mayo in the early stages of the 1996 All Ireland Final replay has to be the most exaggerated piece of shadow boxing in public discourse since Bertie Ahern told Gay Mitchell he was a waffler and the current Taoiseach chided a certain Donegal politician about part of his apparel not residing as it should.
What perhaps never got the traction they deserved were the subplots which spawned because of the farcical manner in which the aftermath of the little bit of over-excitement was dealt with.
From clubs having to field without county players due to the hideous way the suspensions were rolled out. My own lot having to field without Enda McManus and Seneschalstown being devoid of both Colm Coyle and Graham Geraghty, for example.
Then, in the midst of all that, the county team had to carry on regardless. Remember, these were the much better days when the National Leagues started in October and it wasn’t considered a war crime. Teams just got on without players from clubs involved in provincial club championships and that was that.
Of course, the unavailability of some opens the window of opportunity for others. So it was in the back end of ’96. Players like Donal Curtis and Cormac Sullivan and Cathal Sheridan and Ollie Murphy and John Brady and Stephen O’Rourke and Jody Devine stepped into the breach. Though if you take it that the above listed were all part of the All Ireland winning panel, it still left Sean, Eamonn O’Brien and Frank Foley well short of a panel to compete in the so-called secondary competition.
So as only Sean could, he thralled the highways and byways of the county unearthing lads to afford them the opportunity to stake their claim for promotion to the county setup. Which many like Paddy Reilly of Drumconrath, Francis Callaghan from Meath Hill, Kilbride’s Richard Rennicks, Stephen Dillon (Syddan) and Eamonn Gibney (Slane) did with some aplomb.
***
Some of those listed above were very much to the forefront of my thoughts over a recent weekend. That which has been widely acknowledged as the finest weekend’s club football action seen in the county for many a day. A plethora of County Finals innovatively spaced out so as to allow as many people see as many games as they wish.
First up was the meeting of Slane and Moynalty in the JFC B climax, battling it out to earn custody of the Fintan Ginnitty Cup for the next 12 months. A Moynalty side bidding to bounce straight back having been relegated to the grade in questiom last year, taking on a Slane side hoping to erase the memory of defeat at the same stage last year.
While it’s great to see both smaller clubs not only survive but prosper, relatively speaking, I will admit that seeing the blue and white on the rise again is a good. Not that the occupant of this seat has any special connection with the area – save being able to count fellow journalist Gerry Hand and local Councillor Wayne Harding as valued acquaintences – but I have long admired how they, and a cohort of other similar entities – punched well above their weight for a commendable length of time.
Remember, Des Lane was representing the Louth border outfit when collecting All Ireland SFC medals in 1987 and ’88. Then came big Gerry Martyn, a behemoth of a man around the middle of the field who represented Meath at various levels. As did Stephen Carolan a few years thereafter, and finally, at that juncture anyway, a player I was a huge admirer of – Declan Kearns. The bustling full forward first caught the eye when part of a Leinster Colleges SFC winning St Patrick’s CS Navan panel. From where he went on to represent the Royal County at various different grades.
The club’s fortunes took a dip for a while then but, as is the case for any team, the emergence of talented young players has seen them begin to edge towards prosperity again. As evidenced by the selections for and performances on county teams by the likes of Tadhg Martyn and Braedon Colfer. On the day that mattered most recently, it was the good old dictum of goals win games that swung the verdict their way. Two early ones past Johnny Lynch in the Moynalty goal giving them a lead they wouldn’t surrender.
***
I think my 15th birthday had passed before wheels transporting yours truly knew where the GAA pitch in Kilbride was. Reason being that, as the green and red didn’t field their own underage sides at the time, their youngsters played with Dunboyne. Nor did our paths cross much at adult level. Ironically, I’d actually been to a couple of matches in St Paul’s old home – yes, in over the turnstile – in Larry Ward’s field, before getting to the other ground in the parish.
However, within what I’m going to venture was the last two decades Kilbride have again began fielding their own underage sides. With that has come the county team representation.
The highlight of which must be the annexation of All Ireland MFC medals by Conor McWeeney and Josh Harford in 2021, while special mention must also be afforded to Aideen Reilly – daughter of Brendan – who has also been making strides in Ladies Football.
With all that going, it should’ve been a given that success at adult level would follow in tow, though it’s doubtful even the most ardent disciple of the original Quinn Country could’ve foreseen it materialising as quickly as has been the case.
Indeed, to some extent, it could be said their advancement in the championship was a little bit under the radar. Against that, though, the progress the club had been making hadn’t gone unoticed because – as well as the two lads with the county Minors a few years back, others like Ronan and Davy O’Leary had caught the eye in the Regional Championships.
Sometimes, though, you just have to read the signs. To that end, if having a plethora of young players coming on stream wasn’t encouraging enough, the appointment of a management team comprising Leo Turley, Anthony Moyles and Paul Nestor was a statement of intent.
Intent which, to their immense credit, was soundly delivered upon. To the extent that there are times when you have to remind yourself that, sometimes, there are powers which we can neither understand or control doing their thing.
Thus, when injury ruled Josh Harford out of the final against Clann Na nGael, you can be sure his late grandparents Tommy and May Mahon, as well as other Kilbride Gaels like Mena Geraghty and Paddy Reilly and God knows how many more made representations to the Chairman of the Board above on their club’s behalf.
They worked too, because between Zack McGovern pointing immediately from the throw in and Harford’s replacement, Adam Malone, netting twice, Turley’s team built up a lead they wouldn’t relinquish en route to a 3-17 to 1-10 win. The sleeping giants have arose from their slumber, their journey back to their rightful place continues.
***
My late uncle Jimmy Boylan who had unfortunately died before I was airlifted into the world, was seemingly of the opinion that the best action – in terms of quality of football – was to be found at Intermediate level. On my part, nearly three and a half decades of watching club football in Meath would lead me to concur. Victories of Blackhall Gaels and Ballivor and Wolfe Tones particularly come to mind.
The other thing which can sometimes set Intermediate apart from the other grades is the arduous routes some clubs travel in order to escape therefrom. I think of my own lot in the early 1990s but also others such as Dunshaughlin and St Patrick’s and even Simonstown Gaels who were knocking at the door for some time before earning the rite of passage to Meath football’s top table.
Looking at the scene presently, it’s hard to believe that former aristocrats within the county, Navan O’Mahonys and Walterstown, as well as others like Nobber who, not all that long ago were competing with gusto at the top table, are now on the second rung of the ladder.
A scan of the scene through a slightly different lens will show that, next season, Duleek/Bellewstown will saddle up once more having fallen at the final hurdle in the race for the Mattie McDonnell Cup in two consecutive seasons.
Though it will be scant consolation to Joe Sheridan’s charges, along with Rathkenny, Summerhill and Ratoath went a long way in restoring faith that there is good football and are good footballers in the county.
In the end, it was the experience of campaigners such Donal Keogan, Brian Meade, Keith and David Curtis and the introduced James Macken which guided the red and black home against the exuberence of Tom and Alan Bowden and Shane Crosby and Robin Clarke.
***
All of which left the stage clear for the highlight of not only the brilliant footballing weekend, but the entire football year in the county. The battle for the Keegan Cup. Once again squaring up old rivals Ratoath and Summerhill.
The former chasing a fourth SFC title in five years, the latter trying to erase an avalanche of heartache doled out to them over the same timeframe and claim guardianship of Tom Keegan for the first time in a decade. Thus, bottom line was, something had to give. For a very long time, however, it was unclear what it was going to be.
Even a Bryan McMahon goal inside the first five minutes failed to orchestrate separation for the holders because, with the ebullient Eoghan Frayne exhibiting just why he is the hottest attacking prospect in the county and old stage hands Davy Larkin and Barry Dardis on backing vocals, Conor Gillespie’s troops to a 0-10 to 1-06 lead to the Jaffa Cake break.
The tit for tat nature of things continued throughout the second half but when defender John Lavelle flashed over a point in the last minute of normal time it appeared the Gordon Elliott-sponsored bunch were racing towards the title. But then, you don’t achieve all Ratoath have in recent years without being made of strong stuff so in one way there was an inevitability about substitute Padraig Byrne charging upfield and earning the admittedly tricky free which Daithi McGowan calmly and skilfully sent sailing between the posts at the scoreboard end to give an enthralling weekend’s football the ending it deserved.
Now, games which go to extra time take on a whole life of their own. Often there will be very few scores or it could be a case of one individual putting their head above the parapet and seizing the moment for themselves and their kinfolk. In this case, Summerhill’s eventual wrestling of the Keegan from Ratoath’s grasp was a mixtape of all the above circumstances as, when the verdict was eventually being tallied it was the contributions of Larkin and Dardis and the introduced Davy Dalton – baring a striking resemblance to Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia which saw them homeward bound.
Ratoath will be back, of that you can be sure, but Summerhill’s success should serve as inspiration to the long suffering that if you shake the tree for long enough, the fruit will eventually fall.
Leave a Reply